


torn

by ro_blaze



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-26
Updated: 2019-04-26
Packaged: 2020-02-04 20:21:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18611830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ro_blaze/pseuds/ro_blaze
Summary: a shared bath bring more bad memories than it should.[post-war. implied child abuse and continuous nightmares]





	torn

**Author's Note:**

> this was written on a whim few weeks ago. suffer with me and enjoy!

Gajeel shivers when she runs one hand down his spine and Levy freezes, her fingers gripping the washing cloth tightly.

The steam fills her lungs, makes her hair fizzle around her head more than it does usually. Small clouds obscure her already flawed eyesight and it takes a moment to focus, to clear her vision.

“Gajeel?” she asks, her voice quiet and gentle. “Are you-”

“I’m fine” he croaks out.

“You don’t look fine” she insists, fisting the washing cloth in her shaking hands.

“I’m fine, princess.” Gajeel smiles. His eyes are dark, his shoulders are tight, his fingers are trembling. “Stop worryin’ ‘bout me.”

Levy narrows her eyes and lowers down the washcloth. Hesitant, she reaches out. He meets her hand halfway through and grips it tightly, his knuckles white from the strength of his hold. She finds she doesn’t mind it and scoots closer, lacing their fingers and leaning her head on his shoulder until there’s not even a breath of space between them.

“I always worry about you” she breathes. His skin is warm under her touch and she hums, pressing a kiss to his collarbone, right where his tattoo begins. “Someone has to.”

His hand drops her and for a moment, panic fills her chest. Then Gajeel wraps his arms around her and she stills, the breath caught in her throat finally releasing. He’s warm and he’s safe and he’s gentle, his fingers running over the small of her back and back up. It’s relaxing, somehow, and her eyes close. She purrs at his ministrations. 

“They’re still here.”

Levy lifts her head and looks at him, puzzled. Maybe it’s the steam, maybe it’s the heat of the bath or the heat of his skin or maybe she’s finally gone crazy, but she can’t understand what he means.

His thumb runs over her wrist and Levy feels the air leave her lungs. She expects the memory to surface, but all that comes is an unpleasant shiver. Her shoulders slack with relief and when she meets his eyes, she sees some of the tension leave him.

“They are” she says, doing her best to be nonchalant. It doesn’t hurt anymore - at least, not as much as it used to. The memory comes from time to time, but most of her nightmares are filled with choking waters and seas of skulls and unending vortexes of darkness now, not with gleaming crimson eyes. “They always will.”

Gajeel frowns, but says nothing. When his arms shift she expects him to walk away, but to her relief he only settles more comfortably against the wall of their tub, pulling her to him so she sits on his thighs. His hands cup her wrists, his thumbs brushing over the faded scars with gentleness he reserves only for her. Levy can only watch. It’s fascinating to watch.

“I don’t want them to be here” he whispers, at last. He doesn’t lift his head, doesn’t meet her eyes, his thumbs massaging her skin. “I don’t want to remember that night.”

“I know.” There isn’t anything else she can offer him, but Gajeel doesn’t seem to mind. He pulls her hands up and presses his lips to the scarred flesh. A different shiver runs down her spine and she bites back a small coo. “I know.”

The water splashes around them when he moves his legs and Levy suppresses her amusement, leaning closer so she could see all of him. The serenity written over his face makes her smile. Back then, it was rare to see him like this - so relaxed, so at ease - but now she has the honors every day. Every morning, every night. 

Levy runs her hands over his face and Gajeel closes his eyes, a small sigh falling from his mouth as his lips pull into a content smile. She trails her fingers over his jawline, follows the shape of his face - his nose, his cheekbones, his brow - and then every stud in his skin, every scar. It helps her relax, too. His warmth under her, his breath against her palm… 

She wants to know about the scars on his back. She wants to know about the scars on his arms, about the scars on his chest - she wants to know about every scar he’s had before she met him. But she doesn’t ask. 

She waits.

His fingers settle on her hips, darting over the ugly lines etched into her abdomen and then to the scratches over her back. Gajeel is so familiar with her body, every inch of her skin. Levy melts into him with a satisfied sigh, tucking her head under his chin. The warm water laps against her arms. 

“I got them back at my old guild” he eventually says. His voice is even, his fingers never stop the gentle move up and down her spine. “It wasn’t anything strange, back then. I thought everyone was like that.”

Levy finds herself at loss of words. Gajeel doesn’t continue, doesn’t say anything else. She doesn’t need him to. She lets the information sink into her mind, lets it fester and burn. Righteous anger fills her heart.

“He’s already dead, princess.” Gajeel presses his lips to her forehead. “No point to get all worked up over a corpse.”

“He hurt you” she whispers, biting her lip. 

“And he’s gone now.”

Levy opens her mouth to argue further, but he growls and kisses her. All protests die in her throat and she leans into him, tangling her fingers into the mane of his hair so she could kiss him more, feel him more. His hands cup her hips and hold her still while he devours her.

Her lips are swollen and bruised when he pulls away. His eyes light up and his mouth pulls into a smile.

“I’m alive” Gajeel says. His hand cups her cheek and she leans into him, drinking his warmth, his touch. “I’m alive and so are you. Everything else is just… just past.”

Tears fill her vision and Levy nods her head, falling deeper into his hold. She doesn’t open her eyes when his lips kiss the tears away, when they press again her scars. His mouth runs over her ears and she curls closer to him.

“You’re still beautiful” she whispers. “The scars or not.”

Gajeel laughs. The sound settles somewhere deep inside, filling her chest with warmth. She loves his laugh and she loves his smile and she loves the light that shines in his eyes when he looks at her like that.

“So are you” he answers, pulling her into another kiss. 

It makes her toes curl and her face flush with heat. His mouth tastes like happiness and laughter.

**Author's Note:**

> [pan-princess-levy](http://pan-princess-levy.tumblr.com/)


End file.
